The following is an exclusive guest contributed post to MMW from Leeyen Rogers, VP of Marketing at Jotform. For the first time ever, traffic from mobile devices is …

The following is an exclusive guest contributed post to MMW from Leeyen Rogers, VP of Marketing at Jotform.

For the first time ever, traffic from mobile devices is now nearly 50 percent of overall online U.S. retail traffic according to the latest data from IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark. And the growth is not slowing, it’s just picking up momentum. For marketers, the key to future success is adapting to and optimizing for the mobile market.

Our smartphones have become an extension of ourselves. We depend on our phones to get to where we need to go, connect with the people and the world around us, respond to emails on the fly, and serve as an omnipotent life organizer and partner. It’s often the first thing we look at when we wake up, and the last thing that we see before we go to sleep. Many of us have experienced that horrifying, heart-stopping feeling where you think that you lost your phone, and that subsequent flood of relief when you release you have it. It’s almost better than winning the lottery.

Because mobile is now a main player, if not the default, all content should be mobile ready and responsive. Make sure that not only your website is responsive, but all of your forms as well. Don’t drop the ball when it comes down to actually getting the conversions. Choose a form builder that can be responsive, like JotForm, who offers a form designer that is responsive by default.

Gathering client data, especially in bulk, should be be done on a platform that is most accessible for you. Your form submissions can be integrated with online file sharing programs like Box, DropBox, Google Docs, Excel, and more. Whatever you choose, just make sure that it compliments your normal workflow so you can more easily access your data. Your form submission will also be available on your JotForm account.

It’s important to not only gather data in an efficient and effective manner, but also to make the most of it. Dive deep into your reports and analytics, as there could be insight to be gained from the stats that will help you improve your conversion rates. If you have forms with low conversion rates, then look into the best practices for forms and change them accordingly. Updates to be considered and tested are reducing the length, grouping form fields more logically, and adding a progress bar if the form is long. This is especially helpful on mobile, since people have even less patience with long-winded forms on a small device.

Mobile-specific considerations include making images and graphics simpler and less intensive, which can make load times faster, especially with slower connections. The call to action should be clear and descriptive, avoiding the default “submit” if at all possible, since people want to know what actually will happen when they press that button. “Sign Up for Newsletter,” “Make Purchase,” and “Complete Survey” are all more effective than “submit,” “go,” or “send.” A lackluster call to action means that you’re missing out on valuable conversions, and you will have less data to work with. Adding a social autofill option will also be appreciated with users who can have the option of simply signing in with a social media profile, which is very handy especially on mobile.